Saturday, October 25, 2014

Canadians celebrate glorious triumph over lone gunman who failed to bring down state

I don't know about you, but I'm finding it all a bit much.

The facts; a troubled 32 year old Canadian drug addict, armed with an antique hunting rifle, murdered a Canadian soldier in cold blood, and then stormed into the parliament buildings, where he was dispatched to his reward by the very professional actions of the Sergeant-at-Arms, Kevin Vickers.

That's the story, and that's where it should stay.

Instead, we've got politicians of all stripes, and their media fans across the political spectrum, making this out to be some great victory of good over evil.

Here's what should matter. If Mike Bibeau had been given some psychiatric attention, which he was clearly looking for, this incident would never have happened. Instead, he gets all sorts of media attention after the fact, which will only encourage the next Bibeau who has exhausted all his options and wants to go out in a blaze of glory.

The politicians, especially the Harper gang, are milking this to the max. This was a terrorist attack, not the last suicide-by-cop chapter in the life of some desperate and isolated loser. Yes, we are canadastrong, we will not be cowed by terrorists...

And the ever-accommodating media are all over this frenzy of jingoism. Yesterday's CFL game between Ottawa and Montreal never matched the spectacle of the pre-game ceremony celebrating Canadian resolve in the face of terrorism. They even had the biggest Canadian flag in history available for the occasion! The televised OHL game between Kitchener and Owen Sound likewise paled in comparison to the pre-game tribute to our military.

Tonight's NHL game on the CBC was similarly preceded by a rousing tribute to the great Canadian spirit, as exemplified by the heroic actions of our courageous men and women in uniform, who so far as I can tell, made news this past week by getting run over by a car or being shot in the back.

And then Don Cherry gave over the entirety of Coach's Corner with more of the same, which was a disappointment to anybody who just wanted to watch the Leafs play the Bruins.

Clearly, this past week has been an emotional one... and just as clearly, Ottawa and her media acolytes are working over-time to manipulate those emotions...